Fable II: Knothole Island

Fable IIFor people who have slayed every balverine and silenced every bard, there is finally a reason to return to Fable II's whimsical land of Albion. Lionhead released a new island via the wonders of downloadable content today, giving heroes a chance to get a new haircut and set off for battle...

For people who have slayed every balverine and silenced every bard, there is finally a reason to return to Fable II's whimsical land of Albion. Lionhead released a new island via the wonders of downloadable content today, giving heroes a chance to get a new haircut and set off for battle. Given that this isn't a full-blown expansion, I am eschewing the scoring system of our standard reviews and simply laying out my thoughts in this convenient blog. For people who are just curious if they should spend their 800 hard-earned Microsoft points but fear even the slightest hint of a spoiler, I'll give you a quick verdict: It's fun. Check it out. For people who would like a more convincing argument, read on.

The expansion pack introduces a character who not only invented the submarine, but is also in dire need of help from a hero. After offering a few gifts to brighten your disposition, he ferries you to the fabled Knothole Island, a strange place that mainland citizens fled to long ago because they heard they would have the power to control the weather there. When the founding settlers finally died off, the new generation could not handle that power and become lost in a perpetual deluge of bristling snow. It's your job to fix the weather and give these people control over these potentially harsh conditions.

The story takes a backseat to all of the wacky adventures that you can get yourself in, but there is still a tale behind this crazy place. There are books strewn across the island that will slowly reveal the trials that these original citizens went through. Knothole Island is fairly large, with a bunch of other hidden treats as well. It provides plenty of places to search for chests, dig for buried treasure, and dive for sunken goodies under the water.

There is also a town on Knothole Island that, though small, is pretty interesting. One of the shops lets you trade seemingly useless junk for rare items that can be found only in this expansion. You'll finally have a reason to use those puny carrots you've been hording. There is also a shop to buy new augmentations for your weapons and another that lets you purchase unique furniture, clothing, and even potions. The potions are particularly cool. I won't spoil exactly what sort of powers these give you, but they are unlike anything from the main quest. Plus, you'll finally be able to complete some of the unfinished outfits from your original journey.

Knothole Island isn't all about finding books and getting new clothes, though. There are three quests to play through as well. Each of these quests has you running through a dungeon, so there aren't any clever twists in your journey, but at least the dungeons are really well constructed. You'll find an abundance of switches this time, those colored orbs that require you to attack them in a certain way before they'll activate. This is the trickiest part of your trek because you'll have to quickly attack these swerving targets before they disappear. There aren't any wholly new enemies on Knothole Island, but the recycled monsters at least look slightly different from what you're accustomed to.

The new content can be as brief as an hour or two if you run through the dungeons, but if you take your time and scour every inch of the land, it can take much longer than that. The most important thing is that, though there isn't a ton of new places to explore and quests to partake in, what is here is quite good. The dungeons are longer than most in the game, presenting plenty of clever traps and deadly ambushes, and there are tons of new items to collect. And you can finally don a proper piece of armor suitable for a hero instead of the random assortment of rags you're given in the main quest. Knothole Island is a darn good excuse to return to Fable II.

159 Comments

  • thedrawnsoul posted Feb 14, 2009 10:00 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    thedrawnsoul

    Posted Feb 14, 2009 10:00 pm PT (hide)

    I think tht is kina dumb i dont hav acces to my xbox live so i can neva get this i tink they should jsut ardy put it in the game instead of make so only the ppl tht hav xbox live can get it...........thts just pathetic they ardy make enough on sellin the game y not just put it on ther -.-

  • Niffa46

    Posted Feb 8, 2009 5:05 am PT

    To WolfBain666 - apparently you have to purchase the premium to go to Knothole Island - the free version lets you go there if your with someone who has the premium - i think i've resolved my problem - it looks like i didn't fully down load the premium version i had - however saying that it is taking forever to download - It's been a total of 5 hours now - is this normal - i am using the eternet cable through my pc is this why it's taking forever to download? this better work i'll be annoyed if the guy with the sub is not at Bowerstone Docks!!!

  • Niffa46

    Posted Feb 8, 2009 1:24 am PT

    i have downloaded knothole island on to my xbox 360 but when i go to Bowerstone the Sub and man are not there! how do i get to go to Knothole Island? Or do they only appear once you have completed the whole of Fable II first?

  • WolfBain666

    Posted Feb 7, 2009 10:31 pm PT

    OK. Im getting really confused with the premium & the free DL. thought I would DL the free Knothole to see what it was like & I still cant find the guy to go to the island. I will still pay the 800 to get the expansion yet if you cant have a looksee before buying, It;s getting frustrating what else may go wrong. When I first bought it I had to start from scratch also cause my Char disapeeered & with this I dunno? Anyone else have the same?

  • benny32

    Posted Feb 1, 2009 4:52 pm PT

    i just hope its not buggy like fable 2 or full of bullsh*t like lion head were wen they said everyone would get coop on release. I loved Fable 2 but i completed it on good with a kicka*s character and then the game completely locked up and i cudnt finish the after completion quests, sucks totally. Coop not turning up makes me sad but the game overall is good ill be giving this dlc a looksee and hope its stable.

  • CoRiNi

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 4:28 pm PT

    mhjackass1994

    Oblivion is a game from another world .. you can't compare its huge world to any other game's world.

  • chefbabyryan

    Posted Jan 29, 2009 7:14 pm PT

    jjch123

    Posted Jan 30, 2009 1:26 am GMT

    Fable 2 was too short and too easy... but still pretty good. So I bought this expansion but i cant find this guy that takes me to the island. Can someone help me?

    Re: The dude is in bowerstone market, down by the lower docks standing next to a wine barrel lookin submarine, just talk to him and he'll bring you to the island

  • jch123

    Posted Jan 29, 2009 5:26 pm PT

    Fable 2 was too short and too easy... but still pretty good. So I bought this expansion but i cant find this guy that takes me to the island. Can someone help me?

  • red192837465

    Posted Jan 29, 2009 1:00 pm PT

    Loved Fable 2 so much so immediatly bought this. Like the island but the quest is short

  • x_Xarion_x

    Posted Jan 29, 2009 12:55 am PT

    Only took me about two hours to do everything, but it gave me a reason to pop Fable 2 in again, which for me, was worth the $10.

  • alienfreak78

    Posted Jan 28, 2009 4:20 pm PT

    The Mass Effect DLC cost $5 and lasted me an hour. This is $10 and is said to last 2 hours. Makes sense to me. As long its two hours of quality as in Mass Effect's 1 hour of quality, I'm in! I love Fable 2 btw. So addicted to it.

  • mhjackass1994

    Posted Jan 28, 2009 12:35 pm PT

    £40+£8=£48 for 15hrs+1hr=16hrs of gameplay, which is pretty disappointing. i thought the original game was gonna be as huge as oblivion, but it's nowhere near as big, even with its crappy expansion

  • xaminme

    Posted Jan 27, 2009 1:04 pm PT

    Cool! Looking forward to playing it!

  • orcsblade

    Posted Jan 26, 2009 10:54 am PT

    i love the fable series, bring them on!

  • Caboose365

    Posted Jan 25, 2009 11:42 am PT

    Hope they make another expansion pack for fable II

  • GTA_MGS_1

    Posted Jan 21, 2009 3:20 am PT

    There's an option to download it for free?

  • johnboy98315

    Posted Jan 20, 2009 8:27 pm PT

    Do I need to start a new game to trigger the character that takes you to knothole island? I'm not finding him with my current hero. Has anyone else run into this glitch?

  • SopranosFan

    Posted Jan 20, 2009 5:53 pm PT

    If you think the expansion is too expensive then DON"T BUY IT. I bought it and enjoyed it. I have spent $10 on better things but I have sure spent it on a lot worse things than this, if they announced 2 or 3 more expansions along the lines of this at the same price I would get those as well.

  • bmsaareagles

    Posted Jan 20, 2009 1:36 pm PT

    i loved the DLC. I added a lot of new items and content for my Fable II world and it also was a great amount of fun

  • OGLocc123 posted Jan 19, 2009 6:47 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    OGLocc123

    Posted Jan 19, 2009 6:47 pm PT (hide)

    This makes the game $70, with still only "most" of the features expected out of the original product. The expansion hardly added anything at all. It defeats the purpose of the main story's ending. There's absolutely NO POINT in paying $10 for this "expansion." This should have been in the original game, or at least have been free for those who bought a new copy or whatever. If I was going to pay for an expansion, I would expect them to add something worth my money. No one buy this. Maybe Fable III will live up to the expectations that we've had since Fable I...

  • SpunkyB0B

    Posted Jan 18, 2009 12:21 pm PT

    it seems to be a good deal really.

    If you goto a movie that's $15 and it only lasts 1.5hrs MAX while this is cheaper and you can play it as much as you want.

    Stop your crying, buy the game and have fun.

  • cannibal87 posted Jan 17, 2009 2:30 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    cannibal87

    Posted Jan 17, 2009 2:30 pm PT (hide)

    this game was just a big let down they should not have made it i was waiting for it from the first time i heard it and i think they will need more then that to make this game any good

  • Odash

    Posted Jan 17, 2009 1:05 am PT

    Fun glitch. If you use the storm totem repeatedly all the dive spots reappear with all the same items. Inf gold possibility (Not that gold is a problem in this game)
    The new costumes are really nice and so are the augments. Some of the new weapons look cool but are not up to par with the Legendary Katana or Axe. Easy to get some of them if your starting a new character.

  • sephiroth888_50

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 5:51 pm PT

    im just wondering would this be worth 800 microsoft points, or should i wait and save them for halo3's new maps

  • C85_Vaio

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 5:46 pm PT

    Doesn't seem worth it for an hour.

  • Zaggmeister

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 11:08 am PT

    doerrmatt

    SLIGHT SPOILER
    There is actually a small crypt right around town that is on Knothole Island that you can get your dog back in. All you have to do is sacrifice a human being in there and you get you dog back. I didn't even notice any moral standing lost because of it! -Ziggy

  • cheesepuff01

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 10:30 am PT

    exactly....most of a game's expansion should be free to players that have purchased the game. games are already $60 each, and in today's "economic situation" the expansion prices make it harder for gamers to get the best out of a game.
    but if you're like me with lots of cash....go for this download, especially for the knight's armor suit. with the frre version you just get the boots, but your character looks awesome with full plate on gleaming in the Albion sun.

  • doerrmatt

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 7:49 am PT

    SPOILER for main storyline - I'm still not over the disappointing ending to the main storyline. I tried to make my character totally good, but losing my dog over it isn't worth it. So i basically just ended up exactly the way I was before i killed Lucien, what kind of ending is that? If you chose the gold or to save all those people do you get the dog back for the expansion? How would you know where to dig up some of the things needed for the storyline?

  • Donnovan

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 7:07 am PT

    "I just downloaded this last night for free. Iam pretty sure it doesnt cost any points at all. Check it out."

    You can't play the quest all of the content with that free one, thats just so that anyone that didn't pay for the premium content can play with someone that does have it.

  • Cg-sniperx

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 6:11 am PT

    I just downloaded this last night for free. Iam pretty sure it doesnt cost any points at all. Check it out.

  • 2w-sephiroth

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 5:24 am PT

    Welcome to the generation of "pay by chapter" DLC, we might buy a game that you can only reach 50% of the storyline, and then buy small extensions. Oh lets get that little virtual skirt for 4$, or that awesome gear for 5$, and lets get that lvl for 10$... ahahaa..... what the buck? This things should be free eeeaaasssyyy, if not, less than couple dollars man... 5 to less.

  • Just-1-JJ

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 5:24 am PT

    i am really very tempted to buy it after that review. thank you TomMcShea

  • Tripwolf

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 12:33 am PT

    10 bucks for an hours worth of content? Yeah, right. Guess they really do think we're suckers.

  • jayme22

    Posted Jan 16, 2009 12:32 am PT

    @sonic you obviously havent traded in the 2 lutes for the lute weapon capable of 99 damage.

  • Darkboi800

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 11:26 pm PT

    The expansion pack was fairly alright i think it got me playin fable 2 after i finished it so a couple hours were put into the exploring of the island new gear n items esc, it was fairly alright but i dont think it was worth 800 maybe 500-ish..... 3 of 5

  • spoonybard-hahs

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 10:38 pm PT

    @ xSithiSx

    I'm fairly certain that both PSN and XBL have ran specials and discounts and even promoted free DLC for a 24 hour period (or something like that) before. Odds are, if not enough people will download this, MS will do a price cut. They've done it before.

  • cutline667

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 10:35 pm PT

    anyone havin trouble tading knothole island gear to other players?

  • ollism

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 10:14 pm PT

    Just finished Fable 2 and its v v v short this add-on is what should of been included in the first place was just getting warmed up, making a bit of money, good weapons then BAM over! (yes i did all the quests and explored all over) I was gutted to of finished it ...gg ... wont be buying this

  • SonicTheMonkey

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    Fairly annoying that all of the "new" weapons (as far as I've seen) are either recycled from the main game with an extra augment slot, or weaker than the legendary weapons from the main game, so basically they just look cool for the few minutes you play around with them before switching back to your main weapon. The armor is fairly awesome though.

  • lemon1990

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 7:59 pm PT

    you know i think that this would be a fun bit of content to play with but really 10 bucks for an hour of game play is a bit much when it is just a file over the internet.

  • _screamsoftly_

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 6:55 pm PT

    The idea of changing the weather and all that is interesting, but it would be cool if you got that power, which it doesn't sound like you do from this review.

    Basically it doesn't seem like anyone is going to suddenly decide to get this, if they weren't planning to already. It doesn't seem like enough.

  • driubi

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 6:38 pm PT

    Its one thing to charge money for an expansion, I'm fine with that - but, Fable II was much too short in the first place. This is just nickle and diming for things that should have been included in the original game.

  • xSithiSx

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 5:27 pm PT

    God some people are so damn cheap it's amazing, if you have a problem with the price of DLC then dont pay for it..problem solved. They will never lower the prices or make it free, so theres really no reason to moan and complain unless you just want negative attention.

  • Tikicobra

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 4:01 pm PT

    This is an awesome expansion. If the new area and quests aren't enough then the new armour should be.

  • sick203

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 3:51 pm PT

    this isnt that bad. but not worth 800 mp

  • randomgod

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 3:26 pm PT

    the review is pretty accurate - for what you get with the dlc, is really innovative in terms of new items and the new area and quests are great - money wise it's a bit of a rip if you're looking for longitivity but otherwise go for it, much better than tghe main quest line

  • MetalMan300

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 3:19 pm PT

    Sweet! I'll go get it now!

  • katjajett

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 3:11 pm PT

    I downloaded it and liked it. I'm not done with it mind you, but so far it's a nice little extension. The items are interesting and the quests have little puzzles you have to do. Not nearly as complex as other games, just a "oh wait, I have get that open somewhere else." followed by a "oh I see". I will say that if you want a little challenge you should do the extension before you complete Fable's main quest line.

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